Jan 1, 2012

UFC 141 Post Fight Thoughts and Analysis

Hope everyone had an awesome New Year's Eve celebration, and cheers to making this last year on earth a good one. Kid Presentable here with a NYE hangover delayed edition of Post Fight Thoughts and Analysis. UFC 141 wrapped up the UFC's final event of the year, and boy did it create some major waves for the future of several divisions. A new heavyweight contender was crowned, while the long time #2 welterweight fell in spectacular fashion, and a new brash, middle-finger waving contender stepped out of his brother's shadow and into his own lime light.

Alistair Overeem's knees are straight deadly. Sagat would be proud. Reem was touted and billed to be the best striker in the heavyweight division, and it showed that he has fight ending power in every limb. From knees that took the life right out of Brock, to a body kick that made it a short night, Reem is a very bad, bad, dude.

This now sets up for a very intriguing stand up war of the best boxer in the division with the best kickboxer. When two men with the proven fight finishing power of Reem and Junior Dos Santos collide, another first round finish is likely to follow.

Talking to Doctor Law post fight, I called it, this is the end of the era of Brock Lesnar. As someone incredibly polarizing to MMA fans, how his legacy will be viewed will be the subject of great argument and shall range from everything from career quitter to paradigm shifting game-changer. I see it as a man whose career while short, was always at the highest caliber of competition in the UFC, and became a champion with limited experience, and another in an endless list of athletes whose careers were cut tragically short or forever altered by ailments and injuries.

Oh yeah, goodbye to your beard Dr. Law. Time to look like you are 10 years younger again.

Say what you want about their personalities, Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz will always come to fight. An epic was expected, and an epic was delivered. While more one-sided than most would have expected, the action was constant as these are two men incapable of fighting stalling or fighting safe.

Nate has taken one more step toward showing he might be every bit as talented as his older brother. While he doesn't yet possess the fight-ending ability from his striking that Nick has shown, his pace and accuracy was off the charts against Cerrone.

Mr. Jon Fitch, where are you gonna go from here? The silver-medal kingpin has finally fallen after years of being at the top, but just not quite good enough to be champ (see also Kenny Florian). Not a fan favorite, or a boss favorite, does Fitch toil away in the undercard grinding his way to decisions? Or will he reinvent himself as a more aggressive grappler seeking submissions and the finish? Time will tell, but this one of the biggest game-changers in the division just behind the injury of GSP.

Where does this leave Mr. Hendricks now? A man with one career loss to fellow grinder Rick Story now gets one of the biggest wins anyone has in the division and is likely to be vaulted up getting a top 10 opponent and making for a possible #1 contender in 2012.

Alexander Gustafsson proved his hype finishing the Janitor with a first round TKO. The Mauler still has a way to go with his grappling as he was handled by Phil Davis, but with his size, range, and boxing, may offer an intriguing future contender to Jon Jones' iron throne.

Apologies to Mr. Jimy Hettes, the It's MMAzing staff admittedly knew little to nothing about you, and you straight classed Nam Phan. Merc'ing, schooling, handling... all of the above. Someone better be promoting "The Kid" up from his purple belt.